Priority Care on MacArthur Boulevard anticipates growth in demand

The Priority Care clinic on South MacArthur Boulevard was the busiest of four local urgent-care facilities for HSHS Medical Group in Springfield.

Patient volume was among the reasons the group recently relocated physicians from the Priority Care at 1100 E. Lincolnshire Blvd. — just off South Sixth Street — to 1836 S. MacArthur, said Craig Bruce, HSHS Medical Group director of planning, marketing and communications.

“We do know that our volumes are higher there than at our other Priority Care clinics,” Bruce said. “We consolidated physicians at the MacArthur location to provide better coverage.”

As part of the changes, a group of physicians at the Lincolnshire location also relocated to the Priority Care at 2329 N. Dirksen Parkway, another fast-developing area of the city. The Lincolnshire facility now provides outpatient care for St. John’s Hospital, which is part of the Hospital Sisters Health System.

The Priority Care in Rochester was converted to a Family Care Clinic.

Bruce said walk-ins account for a significant number of patients on MacArthur, though appointments are accepted.

“Most of it is true urgent-care, walk-in patients,” Bruce said.

Growth demographics

An average of 21,000 vehicles a day travel the Priority Care section of the boulevard, according to the Illinois Department of Transportation.

Census figures show nearly 77,000 people live within a three-mile radius of the area. Census projections are for a population of 79,000 by 2017.

“This is a real positive. It helps increase medical services along MacArthur,” Ward 7 Ald. Joe McMenamin said of the Priority Care consolidation on MacArthur.

While much of the redevelopment effort on the boulevard has focused on commercial-retail — including the impending opening of Hy-Vee on the former Kmart site — access to health care should play an important role, McMenamin said.

Boulevard consultants also consider medical facilities important to make the stretch more pedestrian-friendly.

Boulevard access

Traffic volume brings challenges along MacArthur when it comes to motorists getting on and off the busy boulevard. The Priority Care project was no different, said Fred Coombe, who sits on a MacArthur Boulevard Association committee on zoning regulation.

Coombe said a minor zoning variance was required to provide alley and boulevard access for Priority Care, which is adding employee parking on the south side of the facility.

“It wasn’t really a big issue. It was more of a formality,” said Coombe, who also is an engineer.

But Coombe said the committee continues to work on proposals for consistent zoning along MacArthur, including access. IDOT has jurisdiction over the boulevard.

“It would be a new zoning classification for areas like the (MacArthur) corridor, Coombe said. “There are certain characteristics that are unique to that area.”

Bruce said the Priority Care on MacArthur opened in 1984 as the first urgent-care clinic for HSHS Medical Group. The first two years, the clinic took walk-in patients only.

Expectations, said Bruce, are for continued growth, especially as redevelopment efforts take hold on the boulevard.

“It’s a great location for us,” Bruce said. “We’re committed to being good neighbors on the MacArthur corridor in revitalizing that area.”

Nearly 77,000 residents live within a three-mile radius of MacArthur Boulevard in Springfield, according to 2012 estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau. The population is expected to reach 79,000 in 2017. Here are other key demographics within the three-mile radius:

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